Although professionals in the field hold a variety of philosophical beliefs,
they generally agree that there is no single cause for problem behaviors. The following
examples illustrate some of the underlying causes for "acting-out" behavior:

Juan, a 16 year old who reads at a second grade level, feels embarrassed to be seen
with an elementary text and reacts by throwing his reading book across the room and using
inappropriate language to inform the teacher that he does not intend to complete his
homework.

Sumi, an eight year old who reads Stephen King novels for recreation, finds her reading
assignments boring and, therefore, shoves her book and workbook to the floor when the
teacher comments on her lack of progress.

Maurice, a 10 year old who finds multiplication of fractions difficult, becomes
frustrated and throws tantrums when asked to complete worksheets requiring him to multiply
fractions; and

Kerry, a 12 year old who has problems paying attention, is so overstimulated by what
she sees out of the window and hears in the nearby reading group, she slams her text shut
and loudly declares that she cannot work.

A conclusion gleaned from these examples may be that, although the topography (what the
behavior looks like or sounds like) of the behaviors may be similar, in each case, the
"causes," or functions, of the behaviors are very different. Thus, focusing only
on the topography will usually yield little information about effective interventions.
Identifying the underlying cause(s) of a students behavior, however, or, more
specifically, what the student "gets" or "avoids" through the
behavior, can provide the IEP team with the diagnostic information necessary to develop
proactive instructional strategies (such as positive behavioral interventions and
supports) that are crafted to address behaviors that interfere with academic instruction.

To illustrate this point, again consider the acting-out behaviors previously described.
Reactive procedures, such as suspending each student as a punishment for acting-out, will
only address the symptoms of the problem, and will not eliminate the embarrassment Juan
feels, Sumis boredom, the frustration that Maurice is experiencing, or Kerrys
overstimulation. Therefore, each of these behaviors are likely to occur again, regardless
of punishment, unless the underlying causes are addressed.

Functional behavioral assessment is an approach that incorporates a variety of
techniques and strategies to diagnose the causes and to identify likely interventions
intended to address problem behaviors. In other words, functional behavioral assessment
looks beyond the overt topography of the behavior, and focuses, instead, upon identifying
biological, social, affective, and environmental factors that initiate, sustain, or end
the behavior in question. This approach is important because it leads the observer beyond
the "symptom" (the behavior) to the students underlying motivation to
escape, "avoid," or "get" something (which is, to the functional
analyst, the root of all behavior). Research and experience has demonstrated that behavior
intervention plans stemming from the knowledge of why a student misbehaves (i.e.,
based on a functional behavioral assessment) are extremely useful in addressing a wide
range of problems.

The functions of behavior are not usually considered inappropriate. Rather, it
is the behavior itself that is judged appropriate or inappropriate. For example, getting
high grades and acting-out may serve the same function (i.e., getting attention from
adults), yet, the behaviors that lead to good grades are judged to be more appropriate
than those that make up acting-out behavior. For example, if the IEP team determines
through a functional behavioral assessment that a student is seeking attention by
acting-out, they can develop a plan to teach the student more appropriate ways to gain
attention, thereby filling the students need for attention with an alternative
behavior that serves the same function as the inappropriate behavior.

By incorporating functional behavioral assessment into the IEP process, the IEP team
can gain the information needed to develop a plan or include strategies in the IEP, and
IEP team members can develop a plan that teaches and supports replacement behaviors, which
serve the same function as the problem behavior, itself (e.g., teaching Maurice to calmly
tell the teacher when he feels frustrated, and to ask for assistance when he finds a task
too difficult to accomplish). At the same time, strategies may be developed to decrease or
even eliminate opportunities for the student to engage in behavior that hinders
positive academic results (e.g., making sure that Maurices assignments are at his
instructional level).